


Spectroscopic

by ellipsometry



Series: ✧SASO 2017✧ [15]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, me namedropping my own username
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 08:11:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11619513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellipsometry/pseuds/ellipsometry
Summary: You:HeyYou:Do you know anything about a guy named Kuroo Tetsurou?Mika-chan:kuroo? i kinda know himMika-chan:he's handsomeYou:Yeah I have eyes, thanksDaishou gets a new lab partner: the infamous and infamously insufferable Kuroo Tetsurou.





	Spectroscopic

**Author's Note:**

> [written for SASO bonus round 4!](https://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/23665.html?thread=14494833#cmt14494833)

Kuroo Tetsurou should be the most sought-after lab partner in Tokai University’s “Introduction to Organic Chemistry” class, Daishou thinks. _Should_ being the operative word.

In class, Kuroo is an outstanding student – he always knows the right answer, to the point where he can’t help but blurt it out before the other students can even think. His lab etiquette is impeccable; his grades are so good he consistently throws of the curve; he annotates and color-codes his lab reports for maximum readability; he owns a collection of sweater vests that would be impressive if it weren’t so goddamn sad.

That last point doesn’t really have much to do with Kuroo’s intelligence, but it is one of the many quirks that Daishou has noticed, penned down in his mental notepad under the title _Annoying Yet Somehow Endearing Things About Kuroo Tetsurou._

Someone as obviously knowledgeable as Kuroo should have other students clamoring to partner with him on labs and research projects. And yet, no one wants to take the bait. Maybe they’re worried about looking incompetent, maybe they know something Daishou doesn’t. He gets it; Daishou has never been one to trust anyone who comes across so squeaky-clean, in no small part because Daishou has gotten away with quite a bit by pretending to be squeaky-clean himself. 

There must be something Kuroo is hiding. And whatever it is, Daishou is about to find out.

“Hey partner,” Kuroo leers, approaching Daishou after class, “We haven’t actually worked together yet, have we?”

“No,” Daishou says, tone clipped, “But I’m in your care.”

They make plans to meet up on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the library for the weeks leading up to their presentation. And it doesn’t take long at all for Daishou to discover just what it is about Kuroo Tetsurou that makes him so unappealing as a lab partner. Instead of taking on the bulk of the work, like Daishou expected a star student like Kuroo to do, he ends up elevating the original premise of the project to a ridiculous level, leaving Daishou with double the work he had anticipated and more research than is necessary for any undergraduate class.

“Ah, this stuff is a bit over my head,” Daishou says, all fake flattery, “Why don’t _you_ handle that, and I’ll compile all the stats and graphs?”

It’s a strategy he’s used time and again with other nerds in other classes, but Kuroo doesn’t look like he’s going to bite. Far from it: instead, Kuroo smiles, slow and wide, and slides a piece of graph paper across the table toward Daishou.

“Let’s do this instead, alright?” he says, before slinging his messenger bag across his shoulder and taking his leave.

Daishou looks down at the paper and feels his blood boil.

_NICE FUCKING TRY_

+

**You:** Hey  
 **You:** Do you know anything about a guy named Kuroo Tetsurou?  
 **Mika-chan:** kuroo? i kinda know him  
 **Mika-chan:** he's handsome  
 **You:** Yeah I have eyes, thanks  
 **Mika-chan:** lol  
 **Mika-chan:** why, are u interested??  
 **You:** -_-  
 **You:** Just curious, I guess. He’s annoying  
 **Mika-chan:** ahaha well so are u :p  
 **Mika-chan:** but i'll let u know if i dig anything up  
 **You:** Rude and also thank you

+

It’s still strange, texting Mika, even though it’s been nearly a year since they broke up. But Daishou is desperate for some semblance of sanity as his meetups with Kuroo become more frequent and increasingly exasperating.

Kuroo is a nerd through and through, even if his unruly hair and trademark slouch can make him look like he’s preparing for the part of Delinquent #4 on some J-Drama. He rattles off facts and figures as easily as he breathes, and he talks so much that Daishou can hardly keep up, even if he’s no slouch when it comes to the subject matter. They exchange numbers for project planning purposes, and Kuroo immediately takes to messaging Daishou weird, niche chemistry memes. Daishou isn’t sure what’s he angrier about: the corny memes or the fact that he can hardly understand them.

The only bit of information Mika manages to find out about Kuroo – _apparently he has a MEGA scholarship. might be why he’s so hardcord abt everything_ – only makes Daishou feel bad for complaining about Kuroo’s constant tangents. Maybe he should humor him, if only just a little bit.

“Honestly, it’s a pretty simple concept but people get a bit hung up on reflection versus refraction, which is kind of silly when you think about it, right?”

“Uh huh,” Daishou deadpans. He’s started just letting Kuroo talk, words washing over him like waves. It might be calming, if Kuroo’s voice wasn’t so god damn grating.

On the day of their final meeting, they put the finishing touches on their project, and Daishou silently thanks the gods that his ordeal is finally over.

Well, he thanks them verbally as well, “Thank the gods I don’t have to fucking listen to you anymore.”

“Careful what you wish for,” Kuroo says, ruffling Daishou’s hair, “Hey, you wanna get some food to celebrate?”

_No fucking way,_ is what Daishou wants to say. Why, when he’s so close to finally getting rid of this guy, would he voluntarily go out to eat with Kuroo? He would have to be absolutely insane to subject himself to more of this torture.

Nevertheless, what Daishou finds himself saying is, “Whatever. You’re paying.”

They get some takeout from a Chinese place a block from campus, then lug it back to Kuroo’s dorm room. _I don’t have a roommate,_ Kuroo had said, and Daishou had just nodded, mentally trying to unravel what kind of implications that statement came with. Was this a date? Were they about to fuck? Would Kuroo shout chemical structure names when he came? What _is_ the scientific name for semen?

“You look like you’re about to pass out, your face is all red,” Kuroo notes, as they unpack the food, dumping it onto some paper plates Kuroo’s managed to unearth from somewhere in his room.

Daishou doesn’t respond; he doesn’t have to. Kuroo just shrugs and continues talking, something about his favorite kind of alkane. _I’m really partial to undecane,_ he says, without a hint of irony. Daishou takes the time to steal bits of meat from Kuroo’s plate.

It’s in the middle of a rant about spectroscopic ellipsometry that Daishou finally cuts Kuroo off.

“Don’t you have, you know, _friends_ you can talk to?”

“Sure,” Kuroo shrugs, “But I don’t wanna bore them with this stuff, they don’t give a shit about ellipsometry or what the fuck ever.”

“So, you’re just gonna bore me with this shit instead.”

“Sure,” Kuroo grins, a slice of white across his face, “I actually care about keeping them around. You, not so much.”

“Clearly, which is why you’ve bought me food and invited me back to your dorm room.” Daishou says, and Kuroo flushes. Daishou feels a rush of satisfaction at finally – _finally_ – having the upper hand.

“You sure think a lot of yourself,” Kuroo finally says, pointing his chopsticks at Daishou, “Maybe I just like talking.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Daishou rolls his eyes, “I wish you’d shut up, honestly.”

“Well good fucking luck with that,” Kuroo says, punctuating his statement with a hyena-like laugh.

Everything about him is so _obnoxious_ , Daishou thinks. The hair, the grin, the incessant talking, the fact that he’s actually as smart as he purports to be. The most annoying part of all might just be how Daishou isn’t actually annoyed at all; he’s captivated, he’s fascinated. He wants to peel back all the layers Kuroo puts up, just to see what’s really underneath.

Kuroo lapses into a rare bit of silence while they eat for a bit, grabbing a beer from his mini-fridge and taking a long sip, “You ever try this brand? It’s not bad.”

Daishou swallows, watching Kuroo take another sip, droplets of condensation sitting on the swell of Kuroo’s bottom lip. He summons the small bit of courage he’s managed, and leans over toward Kuroo, eyes trained on the other boy’s lips, parted and slightly chapped. He leans down, ignoring the small squeak Kuroo makes, and presses their mouths together. It’s a small motion, chaste if anything, save for the way Daishou drags his tongue along the inside of Kuroo’s cheek before his pulls away.

Daishou settles back down on his side of the table, smacking his lips, “Not bad.”

Kuroo is, for once in his life, completely speechless.

(“Wow, that was actually pretty damn smooth,” Kuroo says, after barely two seconds of silence. Daishou starts to wonder if he might need some luck after all.)


End file.
